No more universities!

The recent call for the redesignation of institutes of technology as universities threatens to damage the entire third-level education system, writes Danny O'Hare

THE REAL issue facing the Government is a choice between giving into localist pressures and following its own declared ambition to develop a third-level sector that is appropriate to the country achieving a leadership position in a knowledge society.

Giving into the pressures from Waterford, Cork and Dublin would undoubtedly weaken both of the two critical pillars of our third-level system - the universities on the one hand, and the Institutes of Technology on the other.

Together, these two pillars represent a diversified and highly desirable third-level system, which the OECD in its 2003 report urged the Government to maintain and strengthen as two distinct entities - rather than allow any blurring between the two. The OECD spelled out clearly the strengths of the Institutes of Technology sector - their focus on non-university qualifications (certificates, diplomas, etc) and apprenticeship courses; their deep engagement with the regions in which they operate; and their emphasis on applied research of direct benefit to industry.

Notwithstanding the implementation by the Government of many of the changes the OECD recommended to strengthen the Institutes of Technology sector (notably the Institutes of Technology Act 2006), some of the Institutes have persisted with their campaign for university status.

Waterford is not the only one; Cork IT's application is already in, the DIT continues its campaign, though at a more understated level, and other Institutes are keeping a careful watching brief. Let us be in no doubt whatsoever that giving in to Waterford's demands will not provide a place where the Government could stop the drift.

MANY OF THE Institutes, remarkably, continue to denigrate their own sector, arguing that it is somehow inferior to university status - rather than campaigning to establish a "parity of esteem" between the two pillars. The Government can hardly be blamed for dragging its heels on promoting this notion if it is opposed by the very people who will benefit the most from it. An "Institute of Technology" is certainly different from a university; equally certainly, it is not necessarily inferior.

In the US, MIT, Caltech, and Georgia Tech are among the most respected educational institutions in the country; to seek university status for any of them would be laughable. Similarly, in India and Japan, Institutes of Technology often enjoy more prestige than universities. Indeed, if the name "Dublin Institute of Technology" had been on the table in the late 1980s, I would have argued for it rather than "DCU", with all its supposed benefits of university status.

What I find remarkable is the silence in the current debate of the existing universities. They have certainly something to lose, especially if Waterford, Dublin IT and Cork IT are sincere in their novel commitment to maintain the totality of its present teaching as a university. That would decisively redefine the meaning of an Irish university, and take Ireland down the same slippery slope that Britain and Australia encountered when they made the fatal decision of making universities out of all their third-level institutions.

It would be reckless to disregard the negative and undermining effect that the transition of WIT, DIT or Cork IT to university status would have on the standing of the Irish University in a world that is more connected and where rankings are developing a greater importance and where decisions on foreign direct investment and our 'Fourth Level' reputational ambitions are all more prominent.

What the universities (and the Government) must not forget is that size matters crucially in the international struggle for competitiveness. As a country with just over four million people, seven universities are already too many by international standards - four would be much better.

But since we are never likely to be able to put the individual components of the National University of Ireland back into their original bottle, our priority must be to prioritise collaboration between all our universities. Recognising that scale is an essential element of excellence, it would be a disastrous step to add another university to our already overcrowded pot.

COMPLICATING the Government's dilemma is that each of the Institutes aspiring to become universities is resting its case on different grounds. Waterford's case, on regional grounds, is particularly plausible. However, a re-reading of the OECD report finds that this aspect is given short shrift. Specifically, they argue that "location in a designated regional Gateway provides a justification for the transfer of an institute to university status; indeed we think it is essential that the applied focus which their current differentiation of mission prescribes for their role in regional Gateways is preserved and utilised to the full".

So what should the Government do? I would suggest these four steps

• Announce that the present number of universities is fixed, and that there is no scope for further additions under any circumstances. To emphasise this, it may be sensible to bring in an amendment to the Universities Act 1997. This would leave nobody in any doubt as to what the long-term national policy is.

• By way of compensation to Waterford and the Dublin and Cork institutes, adopt a recommendation from Dr Jim Port's report to the minister to offer some alternative enhancements to the institutes which would allow their highly commendable desire to advance and develop their institutions to be channelled into a role that does not involve university status.

• Actively promote as a Government the value of the "Institute of Technology" title, and follow up this promotion with an active programme to deliver more autonomy to the Institutes in the control of their day-to-day affairs.

• Re-examine the engagement of universities with their regions, an issue that has been badly neglected until now.

Dr Danny O'Hare was the founding president of DCU. Earlier he was director of Waterford RTC, the predecessor of WIT"As a country with just over four million people, seven universities